Well, I do have to get involved in this discussion. I have had three or four Pinarello's over the years. I probably had some of the first imported to this country and absolutely loved the bikes. It was the theft of one of those frames that allowed me to meet one Lou Deeter, who assisted in trying to recover the frame (to no avail). I agree about the quick release decals and crappy paint. The workmanship was ok, nothing sterling, and the entire frame was chromed underneath the paint. I thought the bike rode wonderfully though, during the course of more than 10 years of racing, I find it to be the best handling for a crit, and THE bike of choice for a long rode race. With 32H Fiamme Ergals (I was really light back then) the bike seemed to fly up the hills. Once on the other side I have descended in excess of 70 MPH and never felt uncomfortable. One other thing about the one that was stolen from me, just behind the head lug on the top tube was the Columbus bird stamp, you could see it through the paint and chrome dead center of the tube. So, if you see an old Pinarello I am definitely interested, and if it has that bird on the top tube, give me a shout.
-JD
Still getting blown over in the Mojave desert!
--- J. Edwards
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